Like a Weathered Sailboat
by Evelyn Thirza
Summary: Evelyn of Archenland grew up with conflicting ideals about her place in the world. She became more certain, however, as she grew closer to the land of Narnia.
1. Ideas of Ideals

It was a dreary, dark morning when Sean of Archenland was born to Sir Philip and his wife. The rain constantly pummeled against the window as Felicity labored silently. The midwives were quite alarmed that even in labor, Felicity remained her usual self: quiet and unprotesting.

Her husband, Sir Philip, a gallant knight of the King, was sipping wine slowly in the room next door. A very young King Lune accompanied him in the study, needlessly convincing him that there was no reason to worry, for Felicity was bound to produce the child safely. Sir Philip had no doubts that his wife would produce the child smoothly; she never had failed at anything before now, and Sir Philip loved her dearly for it.

When Felicity was first handed her son, she looked at him proudly, and immediately gave him back to the midwives, to be shown to his father.

"But, my lady, wouldn't you rather him just come in here to see the child while you hold him? Take some time alone with your son, maybe start feeding him," the lead midwife suggested.

Felicity merely shook her head and added quietly, "My husband shouldn't see me like this."

Not wanting to argue with the woman, one of the midwives took the baby to the next room over.

King Lune let out a loud congratulations at the sight of the child, while Sir Philip held his son for the first time. All he could think about was how greatly pleased he was for a boy, and that this child would become the next great knight of Archenland.

The young king looked almost more excited than Philip. "Oh, isn't he just perfect?" Lune piped as he bounced around the room. "What will you call him, Phil? Name him after yourself, or King Barilus, or the Great Knight of Tarin?" Lune was now craning his neck to try and get a better look at the boy.

Sir Philip was slightly annoyed by Lune's energy, as usual, but calmly stated that the child would be named Sean, "after my late father."

* * *

Over the years Sir Philip regretted naming his first son after his father. From an early stage, Sir Philip became quite aware that his son was no knight, and would most likely never become one. Sean was small and weak, and though he had a keen mind, he did poorly in most of his studies, deeming himself above silly subjects. The only things that Sean did well in were those things in which he had interest, namely, history and geography.

Sir Philip's other sons, however, (for Felicity had born five after Sean) were very much like their father, both in stature and physical strength. By the time they were all fifteen, each one of them had been knighted, leaving Sean the only brother not to be honored for his valor and might. Instead, Sean became an advisor to the king. All his studying of history and geography had made him a prime candidate for the job, especially when it came to international matters.

Sean's father eventually arranged a marriage for him, to a young girl from a nearby village. At first Sean protested strongly to this, not wanting to marry beneath his status. Yet Sir Philip convinced him that it was the right fit.

"She'll be meek, which is apparently what you want in a wife, according to those social essays you always are writing…" Sir Philip said, sipping wine again slowly, very bored by the conversation, as he often was with his eldest son.

"You read my essays? I thought you thought them tedious," Sean replied, scowling as his father poured himself another cup of wine.

"I do, but from time to time I like to try and understand your character, and it's a good thing, too, otherwise I wouldn't have had the bright idea to find you a village girl." He took another deep gulp of his wine, almost finishing it off at once.

"That's very thoughtful of you, father, I thank you dearly," Sean said, looking at his father's now empty cup disapprovingly. "You do agree with me then, about the different roles of the sexes?"

Sir Philip looked over his son without replying for quite some time. He had no idea that his son would take the example of his mother and apply it to all women, although his extensive study of the past probably didn't help in the development. "Sean, I've told you before, women are to be treasured, not shut into boxes…"

"Ah, but that's a very unique opinion to knighthood," Sean interrupted, ready to launch into another social commentary. "Knight's are concerned with saving the distressed, so of course you'll believe lesser individuals—"

"Do you think your mother a 'lesser individual'?" Sir Philip interrupted back, hotly. "She is the woman who birthed you, who raised you!"

"I was actually more raised by a tutor and a nurse…" Sean said dryly.

"Fine!" Sir Philip stood up to leave the room. "Your wedding will be in a fortnight. Don't expect it to be very ornate. I'm sure you wouldn't agree with the presence of wine anyways!"

* * *

About a week after the marriage ceremony had taken place, Sean started to doubt his father's judgment. The village girl at first remained quiet and submissive, clearly not used to being married or living in such luxurious conditions, yet after a week of getting to know other women of the court, the Lady Meagan, wife of Sean of Archenland, began to speak her mind a bit more than her husband cared for.

Sean knew that he couldn't go to his father about this problem, and really he felt there was no one in the castle quite as learned as him who would be able to give him advice on the subject. Sean tried his own means, mainly yelling and occasionally hitting his wife, but this could only be done so often, as others in the castle would be alarmed to know of Sean's treatment of Meagan. Yet with all of Sean's protests, Meagan only stood her ground more, refusing to be disrespected.

"I used to have freedom before I married you!" Meagan shouted at her husband, who was again trying to convince her to act appropriately. "I used to be able to trade, farm, and go where I pleased, but now you want me to either stay in my bedroom, or sit in the garden all day. And you want me bare your children? Believe me, that will never happen if I can help it!"

"You really think you can keep that up? It's only a matter of time before we consummate our marriage, only a matter of time." Sean knew he would have to be forceful; the only problem was Meagan was his match in size and strength.

"Oh, really? You think a skinny little man like you can force me to sleep with him? What are you going to do, drug me?" Meagan asked triumphantly.

Sean grabbed her shoulders threateningly, and said, "Just you wait, it won't be long now." And he left without another word.

* * *

In about four months' time, it was announced that Lady Meagan was pregnant. Whether she was defeated emotionally or physically was never revealed, yet she was determined to make the most out of this pregnancy. Something told Meagan that the child would be a girl, the last thing that Sean would want, but the only way to for Meagan to have someone one her team. If the child was a boy, he would be spending most of his time with his father and his colleagues, but a girl would spend most of her time with Meagan, and Sean wouldn't argue with that.

Sure enough, the baby turned out to be a girl, upsetting Sean a great deal. He seemed to blame this on Meagan, who only responded by acting as if nothing was wrong and she was the happiest woman in the world.

Almost everyone is the castle did believe that Meagan was a perfectly happy woman, but no one believed Sean to be a happy man. Years went by as the child, Evelyn, grew, with a rather conflicting set of ideals. Her mother was a positive thinker, always telling Evelyn what she was good at and how much she was loved. Sean, however, barely talked to the girl, and when he did, it was mostly instructions for her to quiet down, sit up straight, or stay inside the castle where she belonged.

King Lune was becoming increasingly worried at his advisor's behavior, believing that he needed a good cheering up. Lune's clever answer to Sean's problems was to make him the new Ambassador to Narnia, which had recently defeated the greatest enemy to threat the land.


	2. The Arrival in Narnia

Sean at first was thrilled at the idea of becoming the new Ambassador to Narnia. That was, of course, until he actually arrived there. First of all, he had assumed that the Kings and Queens of Narnia were described as children in a metaphorical sense, as many people had described the recent victory as the "rebirth" of Narnia. He had no idea that the Kings and Queens who conquered the White Witch were actually no older than 13-years-old, the youngest of which being his daughters age.

Second of all, the rumors of non-humans made him very uneasy.

At Sean's family's first meeting to the Narnian royalty, everything seemed to go wrong for him. As the family and their escorts arrived to the castle, Sean could barely see in front of him, for night had fallen an hour or so beforehand. A man, or so he thought, greeted them.

"Hello friends of Narnia!" said a vague shape in the darkness. "My name is Tumnus, I was sent to greet you." A number of other creatures seemed to be helping them tie the horses up, and at the sound of their friend they piped up.

"Very great of you to come, you know," said a high-pitched voice.

"You're going to love it here in Narnia, summer is just around the corner!" said another matronly voice.

All of these voices were low to the ground and it occurred to Sean the Narnian servants might be the rumored Talking Animals.

Sean cleared his throat and replied, "Thank you kind sir, on behalf of myself and my family. May we head towards the lighted castle?"

"Oh, of course, of course!" Tumnus said apologetically. "Please follow my voice!"

The walk to the castle didn't take long. Tumnus asked them all about their journey, and even though he directed a few questions at Meagan and Evelyn, Sean did all the answering. Sean noticed that this Tumnus had a strange walk about him, like there was something wrong with his feet. It wasn't until the group came nearer to some light that Sean noticed it: Tumnus didn't have _feet,_ he had _hooves. _Not at all caring what kind of creature Tumnus was, Sean stared in shock at the non-human. How could this courtier not be human? Were there not rules against this? It was fine that the animals were servants; in fact, it made sense to Sean, but to place non-humans in the court? Sean agreed with himself that this was completely absurd, and would be writing a long report to King Lune.

Arriving inside the castle, four children started walking towards Sean and his family. They were the most magnificently dressed children they had ever seen, and all had crowns on their heads. A suspicion sparked in Sean's mind that these children may very well be the monarchs of Narnia, and, to his horror, the suspicion was confirmed when they introduced themselves.

"Hello, good gentleman of Archenland!" said a boy of about 13 years, with sandy hair very untidy beneath his golden crown. "I'm Peter, High King of Narnia, and these are my siblings!" Sean couldn't help but notice that, for a young boy, he was very well spoken. The rest of children introduced themselves, in what Sean assumed was age-order.

"I'm Queen Susan, thank you so much for coming!" beamed a pretty girl of about 12 years. Sean initially thought that she would make a fine queen one day when she got older, with her dark, silky hair, fair skin, and pleasant voice, but the next thing she said made him dash those thoughts away: "And thank you, Mr. Tumus, for greeting them for us. We were busy swearing in some new members of our council, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver." At that she waved over at two large beavers down the hall.

Sean, wide-eyed, glanced at his wife and daughter. They were both smiling broadly, clearly pleased with the place. _Of course they would like this land, with all its abnormalities_, he thought. A boy with dark hair and a smirk stepped forward, his silver crown shining. "My name is Kind Edmond," he said in a playful voice. "And before we go any further, I ask for the name of your companions, Sean of Archenland."

Sean was a bit startled by his directness, but reminded himself that he was only a child. "This is my wife—", but Sean was interrupted by the boy.

"Sorry, I meant for them to introduce themselves," he said offhandedly, as if he must have asked him the wrong thing on accident.

Shocked, Sean looked to his wife. She smiled brightly, and said, "My name is Meagan. I've been greatly looking forward to meeting you all. And hearing from your own mouths how the White Witch was defeated!"

"No better story tellers than these four!" said Mr. Tumnus, smiling radiantly at the royals and then back to Meagan, who seemed to blush slightly.

"And what's your name?" piped the smallest of the monarchs, directing the question to her age counter-part.

"I'm Evelyn," Evelyn said in a shaky voice. "What's your name?"

"I'm Lucy! And I think we will all be great friends! Don't you think?" she directed this last question at everyone, and everyone except Sean seemed to make an enthusiastic reply.

After a bit more chatting, the High King said, "Now, you three must be tired and hungry from your journey. We have your quarters prepared, and lots of food in the courtyard just outside of your rooms. Tumnus, will you shown them the way?" The fawn nodded, and Lucy squealed, "I'll come too!"

Lucy started asking Evelyn all sorts of questions, about what games she liked, if she liked horse ridding, if she knew archery, and many other things. Tumnus and Meagan were in a conversation about the seasonal changes in Narnia, and how summer really was the best time to come.

Sean, however, walked alone with his thoughts, observing his family. They were now completely out of his control. He could only do so much to stop Evelyn and Meagan from getting the education he denied them in Archenland without raising suspicion. All of his efforts to keep his wife and daughter as ideal as possible slipped out of his fingers, just within the last 20 minutes. If he was going to save his reputation back home, he would have to think of something fast.

At last they reached the door to a lovely courtyard that connected two bedrooms, one for Sean and Meagan and one for Evelyn. "I hope the rooms are to your liking!" said Mr. Tumnus.

"Oh, of course! This is beautiful!" exclaimed Meagan.

"Well, have a good night then!" said Lucy, and they all exchanged good-byes for the night.

After tucking Evelyn into her new bed, Sean gently pulled Meagan to their bedroom. At first they were silent. Sean knew that Meagan understood how uncomfortable he was, and was relishing it.

"So," he started, "what do you think?" he crossed his arms and leaned against the other side of the room.

"Do you really care what I think?" Meagan chuckled, getting into her nightdress, nibbling on a piece of bread.

Sean eyed her, disgusted with her sense of freedom she seemed to be exerting. "I'm sure you are aware that this place does not hold up to my ideals."

"Oh, yes, I know. I just hope the Kings and Queens didn't catch on." Meagan slumped into bed, clearly not wanting to hear another one of Sean's essay-based speeches.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable here, if I were you. I don't see us staying here much longer…" his voice slightly faded.

Meagan didn't seem fazed. She knew Sean was too scared of getting into trouble to abandon a post given to him specifically by the King.

Sean again repeated, "Don't get too comfortable…" as he left the room, trying to find a place where he could think of how to get his wife and daughter away from Narnia.


	3. A Welcoming Joke

The next morning, Sean had a long report sent off to King Lune before breakfast. The main point of the report was that Narnia was not to be trusted; their customs were unpredictable and children do not make good leaders.

When he went down to breakfast, Sean felt very sure of himself. Clearly Lune would see his reasoning and think it unsafe for the family to remain in Narnia. Sean sat himself by his family, simply viewing his time in Narnia now as a short holiday.

"Ah! My dear Sean," started the eldest king, standing up from his almost finished plate, "we have lots to discuss today! Would you like to meet in my office in about an hour? Susan will also accompany us; we've got business to talk about in terms of duties, and, of course, a little bit of history of Narnia to make you feel more at home…maybe a tour of the castle and nearby grounds if you'd like…"

"Oh, yes," Sean began, faking excitement. "That would be lovely. The sooner I can get settled into my post the better."

"Wonderful," replied Peter. "And I arranged with Edmond and Lucy to do the same with your wife and daughter, help them get settled and familiar with the place." Peter then was interrupted by a dwarf, wanting him to sign off on something.

Evelyn had just finished her food and greeted her father. "Don't you like this place so much, Father?" She was absolutely shining. She had been seated next to Meagan and Lucy, clearly enjoying the company. "Today we are going on a tour! It all looks so lovely! I think Mr. Tumnus will be coming, too!"

Sean, trying to mask how disgusted he was that his daughter found so much pleasure in this place, simply replied, "I'm glad you're having fun!" He looked over at his wife, who seemed to be outright ignoring him, chatting animatedly with Susan and Tumnus.

"My dear wife…" But Meagan didn't register her husband's voice, and kept listening to Susan, describing the defeat of the White Witch.

"Meagan…" Sean called a little more forcefully. At this, she simply held up her hand and "shhh…" toward him, totally engrossed in the story. Susan could tell there was a bit of tension, and paused, looking at Sean.

Meagan finally rolled her eyes and turned around to look at her husband. "This better be important," she said, with an air of humor to mask her real annoyance, "because Queen Susan here was talking."

It never even occurred to Sean that he was interrupting the Queen. "I'm very sorry, your majesty," he said quickly, "I just needed to talk to my wife in private." He really had nothing in particular to say to her, but her defiance made him so angry that he would have to deal with her somehow.

"Oh, it's no problem, I understand," Queen Susan replied, smiling at the couple. But her smile soon faded as she saw the look of reproach that Meagan gave her husband as she stood up, and without waiting for him, turned to walk toward their bedroom. Sean was aware that Susan and Tumnus could sense the tension, so he smiled weakly, and took off toward his wife as soon as possible.

Sean could see the back of Meagan speeding towards their bedroom. To his horror, he heard the latch lock before he reached the door. He suddenly had the idea to try Evelyn's door and get to their joining courtyard, but when he reached it, Meagan had also locked it.

_Like a petulant child, testing her limits_, Sean thought. He didn't know what to do. If he began yelling at her to open the door, the Narnians were sure to hear him. Meagan certainly had the upper hand. She knew he had to go soon to his meeting with Peter and Susan, so he couldn't watch her and keep her in the room. It was only a temporary fix, though, that she wouldn't be able to repeat once he got his own key for the room.

As there was nothing he could do for the present moment, Sean made his way to King Peter's study, which he had to ask for directions to several times. Cair Paravel was set up with many more turns and winding passages than the castle at Anvard.

When he finally reached the study, he was alone. He knew he was a little early, so he began looking around a bit more. After a few minutes of searching, he found a door opened to a magnificent library. He had never seen quite so many books, and marveled at how well preserved they were. He opened a couple that were indeed ancient. But the books weren't to his liking. They appeared to be history books, but had too many pictures and love stories for Sean to believe them to be legitimate.

He left the library a few moments later, knowing he would be back again to find out more things wrong with Narnia. He arrived just when King Peter and Queen Susan were rounding the corner, and they both welcomed him graciously into the study.

It was a pleasant space, if not a bit crowded. There seemed to be quite a few of the colorful history books from the library spread all about the king's desk, along with various papers, quills, and drawings.

The High King continued to confuse Sean. Clearly, the boy was very childish. The drawings of battles, woods, various creatures, and a collection of maps pointed to the fact that he was 13 years old. The King obviously spent many hours copying detailed maps of all of Narnia and her surrounding lands, something Sean was sure no adult would have time for. Yet when the boy spoke, he spoke with a great amount of authority that made Sean second guess his age-assessment of the King. Susan also had this strange air about her, and it made Sean extremely uncomfortable to see children commanding respect from their sense of authority and confidence. They must have great trust in this Aslan who put them in their positions.

As Sean sat down in a chair next to Queen Susan, opposite King Peter and his desk, Peter began what he called "housekeeping".

"Here is your key to your office, a couple doors down from your bedroom," he said, "here is a list of all the villages, and a map that shows where they are. Here's a document of all our taxing information… oh yes, and I thought you might find this interesting!" Peter shuffled through the papers on his desk and found a small poorly bound book. "I looked through the library the other day, wanting to see if there were any records of the goings on between Narnia and Archenland, and I copied them for you, in time order!" beaming, the King handed over the small book to Sean, who took it wide-eyed.

"Thank you, your Majesty," said Sean, and he half meant it, too. The child had obviously done his homework when it came to information an ambassador might need.

"Oh!" Susan piped in, "we've also assigned you to Windfellow, a raven who will be at your service whenever you might need to contact King Lune. He'll be lodging in a nook just by your study. There's a fairly large window in your office, like this one here, and you'll be able to send him off straight from there." Susan finished, and then there was a knock at the door. "I'll get that," she said, standing up.

She opened the door to find Meagan, King Edmond, Evelyn, and Queen Lucy. All of their faces pointed to some form of distress. Meagan was looking impatient, Evelyn scared, Edmond, frustrated, and Lucy, hopeless.

"What on earth is the matter?" asked Susan, beckoning them all into the room.

"It's all Edmond's fault," started Lucy, slumping herself into an empty chair.

"No it's not, I was just joking!" shouted Edmond, exasperating, clearly tired of defending himself.

"It seems," Meagan began, "that while I was examining the East Garden, the three of them went over to the stables, where apparently King Edmond played a joke that frighten Evelyn, and therefore made Queen Lucy very angry. The three of them have been bickering ever since and I can't get the full story out." She let out a long sigh, "so I brought them here."

Peter stood up, "Edmond, please tell me you didn't try the ghost horse trick again?" he looked livid at first, but then his faced soften more to a disappointed one.

Edmond rolled his eyes, "I thought you thought it was funny, too!"

"Maybe to people you know very well, but not to new guests of the castle!" Peter retorted. "I'm very sorry, Evelyn, Edmond didn't mean any harm."

Evelyn finally found her voice. "It was a pretty mean joke for not meaning any harm!"

"Oh, come on, have a sense of humor!" Edmond replied.

"That's not humor, it's picking on someone smaller than you!" shouted Evelyn back at Edmond. Everyone in the room, especially Evelyn's parents, was shocked at Evelyn's sudden volume. Something in the Narnian air must have been changing her shy continence.

"Would someone please tell me what this ghost horse trick is?" asked Meagan, impatiently.

"Edmond's done it to me before," said Susan. "He gets some bird friends of his to support a saddle and such so it looks like an invisible horse is coming towards you. It really is frightening the first time you see it, but I really don't think Edmond meant any harm. In fact, it might even show his affection or welcoming. You're a very strange, boy, Edmond." She looked at her younger brother with wide eyes, still trying to understand him.

"I just thought it was funny and so wanted to do it," said Edmond, one last fight at defending himself to Evelyn. "If I had know you were going to act like a sourpuss—"

"Edmond that's enough!" said Peter. "You two are going to have to work this out on your own time. You'll have plenty of it, I'm sure." The three younger children then turned and walked out of the room. As Meagan began to leave, Susan grabbed her arm, asking, "Can I show you the rest of the castle? I would love to get you know you a bit more…" and they closed the door behind them.

Sean turned back at Peter, and was surprised to see him laughing. "So sorry about that, good man," Peter said to Sean. "Edmond clearly doesn't know how to communicate with women yet."

Sean had to hold back his own laughter at this. "And you do, sire?"

Peter blushed a great deal at this comment. "Well, hopefully better than Edmond."


	4. A New Post

The next week Sean finally heard news from King Lune, and to his utter disgust, Lune did not agree with any of Sean's warnings.

"This is completely insane!" Sean screamed in his bedroom. He was pacing the floor fervently while his wife sat by the mirror, combing her in the morning light. "How on earth could Lune think this is all okay? Children ruling a country? He said they were well behaved… clearly he hasn't seen them recently!"

"Sean, calm down," said Meagan, turning around from the mirror. "If you just tried to like the place—"

"What? No amount of 'trying' would make me want to live here."

"Suit yourself," Meagan said, turning around again and resuming with her hair. "When are we leaving, then?"

"You know we can't just leave…" said Sean as his pacing slowed a bit.

"Oh, I know that. I was just wondering if you had any bright ideas."

"We'll have to wait it out for a while… wait for something bad to happen."

"Fine by me! Forgive me if I don't start packing my bags now."

Sean rolled his eyes. "You've already gotten far too comfortable here. And you've encouraged Evelyn as well!"

"That was the point, Sean!" Meagan yelled back at him. "We moved here. Why would I not try and get comfortable and aid my daughter in getting comfortable as well?"

"Because this place is a zoo run by children! Anyone with eyes and ears could pick up on that!" Sean said this with such finality in his tone, that even Meagan, very prone to talking back to her husband, just got up and left the room. She did however leave one word with her husband:

"I do hope for your sake no one heard that last comment." And she shut the door behind her.

Sean was at a loss. He had no idea what to do or how to get Lune to agree with him. The idea of staying in Narnia any longer was unbearable, yet giving up a post would look cowardly to Lune and the rest of the Anvard court. _I could ask to get reassigned,_ he thought. Yet that would still look cowardly. _No_, he told himself, _I'll have to stay for now_.

* * *

And so he stayed. Eventually he got used to life in Narnia. He never came into agreements with her politics, but he became accustomed to life as an outsider. Many in the Narnian court simply viewed him as a grumpy man, set in his ways, which made Sean feel very old. Yet he was still very young, and able to observe all the changes that were happening to his family.

Meagan had almost given up contact with her husband when not in the presence of others. If she wasn't so concerned about convincing Evelyn that her mother and father were happy, Meagan would have moved into her daughter's room.

As Evelyn grew older, though, it became more and more clear that her parents weren't happy with one another. She didn't dare ask her father about these problems, and whenever she asked her mother, Meagan merely sighed, and said, "I'll tell you about it when you're a little older."

Life in the Narnian court, though, was for the most part wonderful for Evelyn. She bonded very quickly with Lucy, and since Lucy and Peter were very close before Evelyn met them, she also became very close with Peter. It was a strange feeling at first, to have an almost-older brother and sister, but the more time passed, the more she liked it. Evelyn also got along well with Susan, but never became particularly close to her. Edmond, on the other hand, bothered Evelyn to no end, just like he did on her first day in Narnia.

It wasn't as though they hated one another, they just couldn't stay in the same room without disagreeing about something, and unfortunately they did not disagree well. Susan constantly teased Edmond that he must have a crush on Evelyn, but he denied it strongly, never hinting that he might be lying. Evelyn and Lucy had a great time playing tricks on him, and Edmond had a great time playing tricks back on them in retaliation.

The first few years in Narnia were made up almost entirely of playing with Lucy, picking on Edmond, and occasionally going for walks with Peter or Susan when they weren't too busy. But as Edmond and Lucy grew, their responsibilities did as well, and Evelyn found herself feeling quite lonely. She had no position to keep her occupied, and it made her feel very useless.

Soon after her twelfth birthday, Evelyn decided she would ask Peter if there was a job she could do for the court.

She found him in the east most garden, where she often found him thinking things over while gazing at the sea. Quietly coming up to him where he leaned against the garden wall, Evelyn slumped next to him with a heavy sigh.

Peter jumped slightly at her sudden presence next to him and a smile crept over his face. "What's that sigh for?" he said, "Edmond play another mean joke on you?"

"No…" Evelyn wasn't quite sure how to word her request of him. Even though Evelyn had grown close to Peter over the years, the age difference between them made her feel a little self-conscious from time to time.

"Is it something with your parents?" Peter was very aware of the strife between Meagan and Sean, especially after walking in on Evelyn tearfully telling Lucy about another fight she had overheard a few weeks before.

"There's always something with them, but that's not what I'm upset about now." Her frown became more distinct as she settled her head more firmly on her arms in front.

"Then what is it?" Peter was starting to look genuinely concerned.

"I just feel… like I don't belong here."

"What?" he said, sounding shocked. "Why do you feel like that?"

"Everyone has their place, their job to do. I have nothing. Everyone seems to be doing important things but me." Even Lady Meagan had a new post—she had agreed to help Tumnus with a new project updating the library, and building a new one that all of Narnia could come and use.

"You're still taking lessons, aren't you? Aren't they important?" Peter said this in a very brotherly tone, and Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but besides that. Lucy and Edmond are still in lessons and they have a whole load of responsibilities. All I'm left to do is be by myself…" said Evelyn, awkwardly, not trying to reveal how lonely she had been feeling lately.

"Look," said Peter, "I want you to understand very clearly that you don't have to have a position here in Narnia to belong. We all want you here and enjoy you being here. You make it easier for us to feel at home."

"Really?"

"Of course!" said Peter, smiling, "You're my favorite arching partner!"

"That's only because Susan and Lucy are too good, and Edmond's too competitive."

"Exactly why I need someone like you around!" he put an arm around her, trying to make her frown go away.

"But even with that, I still feel like I should be doing something more. There has to be something I can do around the castle…"

Peter paused thoughtfully for a moment, "Let me think, let me think… Oh! I know! Although it might be a bit boring for you; you might not like it at all."

"It's worth a try!" exclaimed Evelyn, exciting at the prospect of almost anything. "What is it?"

"We need a note keeper for our weekly council meetings."

"I could do that! I'm a very good speller!" She had indeed been working very hard on her spelling, and on her penmanship.

"But I'm telling you, those meetings are very, very boring…"

"I don't care! I'm sure I'll learn a lot, just by listening in. And I can look up things I don't understand from the meetings and get to learn even more! Thank you Peter! When can I start?"

Peter looked surprised at her enthusiasm for such a simple post. "There's a meeting tomorrow, actually. Right after breakfast."

"Great! I'll be ready!" And after giving Peter a great hug around the waist, she tore off to the library, hoping to get some of her lessons out of the way to make time for the meeting tomorrow.


	5. Antics

Evelyn arrived early for the council meeting, bringing with her as much paper and ink that she had. As she walked into the room, she made eye contact with Peter, the only other person there.

"You're early!" Peter said, walkingover to help with the stack of papers Evelyn was carrying.

"Oh, I didn't want to miss anything!" she said, beaming. "Thank you so much for letting me do this, and I promise I won't make a sound! I'll just write everything down—"

"—wait," Peter stopped her. "Don't worry about not making a sound. You're not an official member of the council, but we can always use extra opinions."

Evelyn looked at Peter with wonder as she sat down at her seat. "Really? But, I'm just… I'm just a girl! My father would—"

"—your father and I disagree on a lot of things," Peter interrupted, a look of frustration growing on his face. "Do you really think of yourself that way? What about Lucy and Susan? They are girls and do a whole lot that your father thinks inappropriate."

Evelyn thought hard about this. She never saw herself in the same category as Lucy and Susan. They were the exceptions to the rule, weren't they? It never occurred to Evelyn that there might not be a rule at all.

Members of the court and council started to arrive, including Sean, who gave Evelyn a very strange look as he entered. The meeting was uneventful to start, and Evelyn tried her best to keep up with the boring conversations about land disputes, market prices, taxes, and dwarf politics.

When the meeting was almost through, Peter looked down at his agenda and said, "All right, now. One more thing to discuss. Mr. Tumnus, you have an update on the library project, yes?"

Mr. Tumnus cleared his throat and began, "Yes, Your Highness, the Lady Meagan and I have run into a slight problem. It seems that most of the creatures in the wood who were so excited about the library actually cannot read."

"And when we asked if they wanted to learn," Meagan joined in, "they said it wouldn't do any good. I don't know if it's a lack of confidence in their learning ability, or just disinterest. They all just seemed so happy when we brought up the idea—it doesn't make any sense."

Peter looked over to the Talking Animals at the table. "Would any of you who used to live in the woods like to shed some light on the situation?"

"I will, Your Highness," Mrs. Beaver began. "Many of the creatures in the woods have never had any use for reading. So why learn? They just don't see how it could be useful. They love stories, though, that's probably why they liked the idea of a library."

"But what's the point of a library if they can't read and don't want to learn how?" Tumnus asked.

Queen Susan now chimed in. "Maybe they just need the right inspiration. Anyone have any ideas?" She looked around hopefully, but no one seemed to have any clue what might work.

"Come on now, someone must have a suggestion!" King Peter interjected.

Evelyn had a thought, but glancing at her father she grew too nervous to mention it out loud. Although the High King himself said it was okay for her to offer her opinion. Could she really be scared of her father when all of Narnia would be on her side?

Slowly, and with a shaky hand, Evelyn indicated she had something to offer.

"Ah! Lady Evelyn!" Peter exclaimed, smiling at her. "Please, what do you have in mind—"

"—Do you really think that is a good idea, Your Highness?" Sean had stood up, clearly outraged that his daughter was to speak.

Peter looked over at Sean with a small smirk, a smirk that was completely filled with impatience and contempt. "I think it a perfectly fine idea. Please, sit down. There's no need to get yourself upset. Now, Evelyn—"

"There is a perfectly good reason to be upset!" Sean yelled out, looking a little startled at himself. Everyone else in the room looked with shock from Peter to Sean, clearly outraged that Sean was speaking to the King in such a way.

And now Peter stood up. Even though he was only a boy of 17, the authority and fierceness that come out from him made him seem twice as tall as Sean. "If the way that we do politics here offends you, Sean of Archenland, you know where the door is. Is anyone else offended to hear Lady Evelyn's opinion on the matter of the library?"

All the members quickly shook their heads no, and Sean stormed out from the room.

"Well, that's better," said Peter, matter-of-factly. "Please Evelyn, what is your proposal?"

Evelyn looked wide-eyed at Peter, unable to find her voice for a moment. What was going to happen when she saw her father? She dearly hoped someone would keep watch on her—Evelyn knew her father had hit Meagan before.

Eventually Evelyn cleared her throat and said, "Well, we could do story readings for the villages. Maybe that way they can see the benefits of reading for themselves or their families."

"That's an excellent idea!" Piped up Mrs. Beaver. "I'm sure that will work! Read them an exciting story to just about the end, and tell them they have to learn how to read in order to find out what happens!"

"Well, that might be a little on the cruel side, Mrs. Beaver," Susan added, "but overall a very good idea. Thank you, Evelyn. Would you like to be in charge of setting up a reading group for the library?"

"Um…" Evelyn had no idea what that would entail, but if Queen Susan thought she could do it, maybe she could. "All right, I'll try."

"Wonderful!" said Peter. "I believe we've covered everything. Good-day everyone."

As all the council members made their way out of the room, Evelyn quickly ran to her mother's side. "Mother, do you think Father will be very angry with me?"

"Not with you, dear one. He'll be angry with me, and Narnia." Meagan had a focused expression on her faced as she walked toward their family quarters determinedly. "Your Highness," she directly toward King Peter, "would you please provide a guard for our family quarters. I am a little concerned for my husband's behavior."

"Of course," he said, "I'll go with you myself."

After walking in silence to Meagan and Sean's bedroom, Meagan taped on the door, saying, "Dear husband, may I come in?"

Sean flew open the door, revealing the absolute chaos within it. All of Sean and Meagan's belongings were strewn about the place and three or four suitcases lay open and half full.

"Are you going somewhere, Sean?" said Peter, with an air of sarcasm.

"Yes, _Your Highness_," responded Sean, matching the King's tone. "I'm taking my family back to Archenland. I've had enough of the childish antics of your rule of Narnia. We're going."

"_We're_ not going anywhere," said Meagan, putting an arm around her daughter.

In one swift movement, Sean walked toward her and raised an arm, about to strike, but Peter caught his arm and drew a dagger from his waist, placing it dangerously close to Sean's throat.

"You lift a finger towards her," Peter told Sean through gritted teeth, "I'll cut all your fingers off. Don't think I won't."

Sean looked frightened for once in his life. He knew he was no match for the High King Peter, and to provoke him would bring Sean a death sentence.

Peter began to speak to Sean again, "I've also had enough of _your_ antics, Sean of Archenland. You are henceforth banished from Narnia. Please, follow your plans and return to Archenland. But Meagan and Evelyn will only accompany you if they wish to."

Sean's frightened face turned livid at this, and when Peter released him, it took Sean's every bit of might to not act out violently again.

After a few more moments of silent tension, Sean turned and began packing his bags. Peter wordlessly directed the two women from the room. "If it would make you feel safer, you may stay with Susan or Lucy in their quarters until Sean in ready to leave." Peter looked at Meagan with sympathy. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this. I could tell from the moment I saw you two that you were Narnian at heart." He smiled at them, putting an arm around Evelyn.

"I can't thank you enough, Your Highness," began Meagan. "I never thought I would get away from him. Thank you, thank you. I owe you my full devotion."

"You owe my nothing, Lady," Peter responded. "How are feeling, Evelyn?"

Evelyn wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She didn't know if she was glad or upset that her father was leaving, or proud or guilty that her actions brought this whole mess about. "I'm… very confused," was all that she could get out at the moment. And with that, Meagan wrapped Evelyn up in her arms and lead her towards the Queens' bedrooms, while Peter kept an eye on Sean.


End file.
